Golf club putter with grip locator



April 1963 J. R. HENRY I 3,376,038

GOLF CLUB PUTTER WITH GRIP LOCATOR Filed May 21, 1965 INVENTOR.

JOHN R. HENRY BY ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,376,038 GOLF CLUB PUTTER WITH GRIP LOCATOR John R. Henry, 28 Westminster Drive, Oakland, Calif. 94618 Filed May 21, 1965, Ser. No. 457,702 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-81) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A golf club putter having a shaft with a spherical mem ber adjustably mounted on the handle portion of the shaft so that the center of the spherical member lies on the shaft longitudinal axis. The spherical member provides a natural gripping surface for the hands of the golfer thus permitting the putter to make a natural swing like a pendulum with the putter head acting as the weight.

The usual golf club. putter has an elongated handle and the golfer grips it with both of his hands while held in tandem with each other. The adjacent fingers of the two hands usually interlock with each other.

A golf club putter should be swung like a pendulum by a golfer when making a putting stroke. This means that the golf club should swing about a single center as a pivot. It is difficult for a golfer to swing a golf club putter about a single pivot when he grips the handle with his hands held in tandem. Each hand tries to function as a separate pivot point with the result that the two points of possible pivot are spaced apart. A compromise pivot point for the golf putter might lie between the two spaced apart pivot points, but the golfer never would be certain of the exact point of pivot for the club.

An object of my invention is to provide a golf club putter with hand gripping means mounted on the club handle which will permit the golfer to place both of his hands opposite each other on the handle when gripping to club rather than position them in tandem. This means consists of a spherical member adjustably mounted on the handle and having a diameter that will be conveniently received in the palms of the two hands of the golfer. The spherical member will not only position the two hands of the golfer opposite to each other, but the center of each cup-shaped palm will coincide with the center of the spherical member. The club will now have a natural swing like a pendulum with the center of the spherical member being the sole point of pivot. The golfers hands will not provide two separate pivot points for the swing.

A further object of my invention is to provide a golf club putter of the type described which is simple in con struction and in which the spherical member can be adjusted along the length of the handle and will be frictionally held in place after adjustment.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification continues. The novel features of the invention will be set forth in the appended claims.

Drawing For a better understanding of my invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which:

FIGURE In a side elevation of the golf club putter.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the handle portion, the golf club putter being shown on a larger scale and illustrating how the spherical member can be grasped by both hands of the golfer so that they will be disposed opposite each other and the point of swing for the hands will coincide with the center of the spherical member.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of FIGURE 2. While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes,

Detailed description In carrying out my invention, I provide a golf club putter that has a shank A, a putter head VB and a handle C. The outer diameter of the handle is uniform throughout its length and this permits a spherical member D to be mounted on the handle and adjusted along the length thereof so as to be positioned properly for the golfer using the putter. The spherical member ED can be made out of any material desired and it has a bore 1 that receives handle C. The inner surface of the bore 1 will frictionally engage with the outer surface of the handle C. The spherical member D can be moved into the desired position along the handle and the friction of the surface of the bore 1 upon the handle will hold the member in the position into which it has been moved.

In the use of a golf club putter, the best type of putting stroke is to swing the putter like a pendulum about a single pivot point. This pivot point should be in the handle C. If the spherical member D is not used, the usual grip made by the golfer is to place his two hands in tandem on the handle. It is important to have the putter swing about a single pivot point when making a putting stroke and this is practically impossible when the two hands grip the handle in tandem. Each hand tends to become the center of the pivotal swing with the result that there will be two separated points on the handle, each of which tries to act as a pivot.

When the spherical member D is used, its outer periphery 2 will be made large enough to be accommodated in the palms of the two hands E and F of the golfer as clearly shown by the dot-dash lines in FIGURE 2. The palm of one hand will receive substantially one-half of the spherical surface 2 and the palm of the other hand will receive approximately the other half of the spherical surface. The two thumbs 3 and 4 of the two hands E and F will be brought into juxtaposition with each other as shown in FIGURE 2 and will overlie the adjacent spherical surface of the member D. The other fingers 5 of the hand B will receive a portion of the spherical surface 2 and the other fingers 6 of the hand F will receive another portion of the spherical surface. The fingers 5 are preferably interlaced with the fingers 6 for providing a perfect natural grip. The interlocking of the fingers 5 and 6 is not shown in FIGURE 2.

The center of the spherical member D is indicated at 7 in both FIGURES 1 and 2. When the spherical member is gripped by the hands E and F, as shown in FIGURE 2, the end 8 of the putter head B will be facing forwardly and the swinging of the golf club putter will be in a transverse direction with the point 7 constituting the sole center of the spring. The golf club putter will behave in much the same manner as a pendulum with the putter head B acting as the weight at the lower end of the pendulum and the point 7 constituting the center of the swing.

The two hands E and F of the golfer are arranged opposite to each other and the spherical member D provides a natural gripping surface for the two cup-shaped hands that will permit the 'hands to remain in a natural position i Patented Apr. 2, 1968 spherical surface in addition will position the two hands opposite to each other so that the fingers of both hands together with the palms will form cup-shaped or halfspherical portions .whose centers coincide with the center 7 of the spherical member D. A simple wrist movement of the hands E and P will permit the golfer to swing the golf club putter like a pendulum and this swinging movement will naturally have as its center, the center 7 of the spherical member D. Therefore the two hands E and P will not tend to provide two spaced apart swinging centers along the handle C which would be the case when the handle C alone is used and is gripped by the two hands arranged in tandem along the length of the handle.

It is possible to slide the spherical member =D along the handle C to a desired position. For example, if the golfer wishes less distance between the putter head B and his hands E and F when they grip the handle C, then the spherical member D would be moved toward the head B. The opposite movement of the spherical member D on the handle C would take place if the golfer wishes a greater distance between his hands and the head B. Any means may be used for holding the spherical member D against accidental movement along the handle C. I have found that friction alone between the wall of the bore 1 in the member -D and the outer surface of the 25 handle C is sufficient to hold the spherical member in place on the handle.

I claim:

1. The combination with a golf club including a shaft with a hand gripping portion carried thereby, a grip comprising a spherical member having a bore through which said hand gripping portion extends, said member being adjusta'bly mounted on the hand gripping portion of said shaft and spaced from the end thereof, the center of said spherical member coinciding with the longitudinal axis of said hand gripping portion, said spherical member being of such a size as to be readily engaged by the cupped palms of a golf player to position the hands of the golf player opposite one another, the center of said spherical member coinciding with the center of each cupped palm of a golf player upon the outer surface of said spherical member being engaged by the cupped palms of the golf player.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,561,348 11/1925 Murphy et a1. 27381.3 1,648,354 11/1927 Lied 27381.4 X 3,077,349 2/1963 Leonard 27381.4 2,092,839 9/1937 Gouverneur 273-81.4 2,231,773 6/ 1943 Ruemelin 27*381.2 2,532,646 12/1950 Severin 273--19 3 X 2,608,409 8/ 1952 Pinkerton 273194 ANTON O. O'ECHSLE, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Examiner.

R. J. APLEY, Assistant Examiner. 

